Laundry net



w. o. ELLIS March 6, 1951 LAUNDRY NET Filed Sept. 29, 1948 llll Illlllllll ll IIIIDIIIIIII Ill 1||l llllll llll WhL/mw D. ELLIS ATTORNEYSPatented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAUNDRY NET William1). Ellis, Atlanta, Ga.

Application September 29, 1948, Serial No. 51,773

4 Claims. 139 -389) This invention relates to improvements in laundrynets utilized for the enclosure of individual bundles of washablearticles during commercial laundering operations, and has particularreference to a laundry net wherein both cotton and nylon materials areutilized in the formation of the net structure.

Laundry nets deteriorate rapidly with repeated laundering operations,wherein the nets are exposed to alkali and acid washing reagents.Accordingly, the expense of net maintenance, replacement and supply isan important financial consideration. It is well known that varioustypes of treated materials, such as rubberized strands, have beensubstituted for the conventional twisted cotton strands commonly used inweaving laundry nets, in an effort to develop a wear-resistant stableopen mesh laundry net. However, the expense of the specially formed cordmaterials is excessive. Also, the use of nets made from heavy cordmaterials is impractical,

- for it is desirable that a laundry net be light in weight so thatagitation of the net and its contents during a laundering operation willbe facilitated.

It has been suggested heretofore that strands of pure nylon be employedin the weaving of laundry nets with the result that a strongwearresistant net of desirable weight before and after immersion inlaundering solutions was provided. However, an open mesh net made solelyfrom smooth surfaced strands such as nylon strands will distort, theindividual strands moving freely relative to each other with consequentdeterioration of the required open mesh net structure and uniformporosity characteristic of the net. To counteract this deficiency, ithas been suggested that nylon strand laundry nets be woven of the finestmesh possible consistent with the net porosity requirements. Thissuggested expedient has not been put into wide practice due to theexpense involved, and the fact that disadvantageous strand slippageresulting in mesh distortion was not eliminated.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved laundry net ofnylon and cotton strands capable of withstanding repeated immersion intolaundry cleansing agents without harmful deterioration of the structureof the net.

A further object is to provide a'laundry net which is simple andinexpensive to construct and which embodies improvements inconstructional details facilitating the manufacture.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a laundry net capableof maintaining a uniform open mesh weave without weave spreadingnotwithstanding long abusive treatment of the net.

Still another object of the invention is to provide. a laundry net oftubular structure having novel reinforced edges formed integral with thenet body.

with these and other objects in view which may be incident to theimprovements set forth hereinafter, the invention consists in themethods and article of manufacture disclosed and claimed with theunderstanding that the details of the invention may be varied withoutdeparting from the sp it and scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the laundry net showing upper, lowerand side portions;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a portion of the bottomof the laundry net;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional detail through one of the strands; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged view in vertical section through the lower edgeof the bag.

In its broadest application, this invention comprises a laundry netwhich is light in weight, durable, and capable' of undergoing repeatedlaundering operations without loss of the original open meshconfiguration of weave and porosity characteristic of the net. This isaccomplished by employing a composite strand which is formed of nylonand cotton threads twisted together so that the exterior of-the strandis at least partially composed of cotton threads. Conventionalweaves maybe used in forming the net. A plain weaveor a leno weave is employedadvantageously, or a combinatin of plain and leno weaves may be used.The use of composite strands formed of nylon and cotton threads orfilaments in weaving the net eliminates objectionable weave spreading,whereby a greater stabilized net porosity characteristic is.accomplished.

Referring to the drawings, the invention comprises a laundry net asindicated by the numeral Iii of Figure 1, wherein composite strands I Iconsisting of plied cotton and nylon threads l2 and I3 respectively, arewoven in an open mesh weave ll, such as a leno weave, to form the bodyof the net.

' The composite strands H may be plied in any convenient manner; forexample, the strand H may be formed by twisting two threads of nyloninto a single strand, the nylon strand being plied with a two threadcotton strand to form the composite strand. 'A second type of compositestrand The nylon thread I! may comprise either continuous nylonfilaments or cut spun filaments. In the practical application of theinvention, it has been found that two hundred and sixty denier filamentnylon thread with seventeen filaments of fifteen denier each may beemployed advantageouslyin forming-the nylon thread I3, the thread I 3being twisted with a Number Twelve cotton thread to form the compositenylon-cotton strand II.

The most advantageous combination is at tained if the cotton and nylonthreads l2 and I3 are plied together in the ratio of two of cotton toone of nylon, it being understood, however, that other ratios ofnylon'to cotton informing the strand may be satisfactory, depending onthe intended use of the net.

The nylon thread .component supports and strengthens the cotton thread,providing a strong net framework oi nylon which considerably strengthensand minimizes stretching and shrinkage of the net. The cotton threadcomponent, on the other hand, provides a surface capable of securing thenylon thread against slippage, overcoming the lack of cohesion orresistance to relative movement of adjacent nylon threads or filaments.Thus, maintenance of the uniformity of the open mesh weav'e isaccomplished by stabilization of the relative position of the compositestrands at the strand interstices l5. Diminution of the open meshcharacteristic of various portions of the net during use as by narrowingor clbsing of the mesh, is avoided.

The invention further provides a novel net body construction havingreinforced edges whereby deterioration of the net through excessive wearis minimized. As shown in Figure 1, the body of the net I may be wovenin a tubular medium leno weave, having a bottom edge20 comprisingrelatively tightly woven reinforcing bands 2|, which bands areinterwoven to form a seam 22 joining the opposed net walls.Alternatively, the body may be woven in a uniform open mesh weave havinga seam and bead substantially as shown. The bands 2| areextended as asingle sheet 23 of double plain weave, which is gathered or rolled backupon itself to form a bead 24 adjacent the seam 22 at the point ofjunction of the opposed reinforced bands in the walls of the net. Thebead'24 may be secured firmly in place by stitching or otherwise. Theplain woven bands 2| and the bead 24 support and protect thecharacteristic open mesh weave of the net walls against strain andconsequent mesh distortion, as well as protecting the bottom edge of thelaundry net against wear. Incidental to the formation of the net loweredge 20, it is preferred to turn the corners 25 of the bead 24 upward asat 26, thereby rounding oil the normally square pocket formation of thenet bottom. These rounded corners 25 of the net bottom minimize theaccumulation of refuse in the net bottom, as well as reduce chafing ofthe net during the laundering process. To further strengthen the net,the two side edges 21 extending longitudinally of the net are reinforcedby a plain woven strip formed as a part of the body of the net, incontinuation of the leno weavportion. The reinforced edges 21 provideadditional strength where lateral stress on the net is most likely tooccur and form protective edges at the points on the net most likely tobe subjected to chafing.

It is to be noted that the purposes and object of the invention .aredirected specifically to the provision of laundry nets having a uniformopen mesh weave stabilized against wear and mesh distortion. While forpurposes of description, the invention has been described with-referenceto specific embodiments thereof, it should be understood that varyingtypes of weaves and proportions of nylon to cotton in forming thethreads may be employed without departing from the spirit of theinvention, as defined in the appended claims: I

I claim:

1. In a woven laundry net for containing washable articles duringlaundering operations, a net body having composite strands formed fromplied threads of cotton and nylon, the threads being twisted together sothat exterior surfaces of the said strand consist principally of cottonthreads, all said strands being woven in a substantially uniform openmesh plain weave, the said net body so formed being free from strandslippage caused by distortional forces, and a closure for the bodyformed from threads of the net body woven in a closed mesh plain weave.

2. A woven laundry net for containing washable articles duringlaundering operations composed of composite strands comprising pliedcotton and nylon threads in the ratio of two threads of cotton to onethread of nylon twisted so that exterior surfaces of the said strandsconsist principally of cotton thread, the strands so formed havingnon-slip qualities sufllcient to withstand excessive distortional forcesand to maintain original weave of the net.

3. A woven laundry net for retaining washable articles during launderingoperations comprising a. net body having composite strands, eachconsisting of plied cotton and nylon threads twisted to form anindividual strand, exterior surfaces of the said individual strandconsisting principally of cotton threads, the strands woven in an openmesh leno weave to form the body, composite strands forming the net bodyresisting displacement relative to each other to retain the openmeshweave free from weave spreading and consequent loss of open mesh netconfiguration during a laundering operation, and a closure for a netbody including a seam formed from strands comprising the net body weave,the said seam being woven in a close mesh weave and folded upon itselfto form a bead.

4. A woven laundry net for containing washable articles duringlaundering operations composed of composite strands, each strand beingtwisted from plied cotton and nylon threads, the exterior section of thestrand having suflicient cotton thread exposed to provide a surfacecapable of non-slip friction engagement with the surfaces of other likestrands.

WILLIAM D. ELLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,682,198 Sitton Aug. 28, 19281,983,452 Gwaltney Dec. 4, 1934 2,130,948 Carothers Sept. 20, 19382,313,058 Francis Mar. 9, 1943 2,433,722 Weiss Dec. 30, 1947 2,477,652Robbins Aug. 2, 1949 2,511,644 Liss June 13, 1950 2,526,523 Weiss Oct.17, 1950

